Magic Johnson: LeBron to 'set the league on fire for a long time'

Even before the final ticks of the NBA Finals, the former Los Angeles Lakers star guard said Miami Heat forward LeBron James has put together a postseason for the ages.

"I would say top 10 performances of all time in terms of the playoffs," Johnson said on a conference call Thursday, in advance of his ESPN studio work. "He's been dominant on, I would say, both ends of the court, and he's controlled the series with the ball in his hands.

"He's been in full control of what happens on the court, whether it's scoring, whether it's assists, ability, and then he's taken the challenge to guard Kevin Durant. But also he's rebounded."

Johnson said he would not be surprised to see future renewals of Heat-Oklahoma City Thunder Finals.

"When I look at OKC, when you look at the Heat, the Heat are not going anywhere," he said. "I think Miami is only going to get better from this experience."

As for the marquee Finals matchup, Johnson said he currently rates James as the superior player to Thunder forward Kevin Durant.

"I'm going to take LeBron James," he said. "I think he's the best player in the league, in the world. I think Kevin Durant is proving that he is going to dominate this league for a long time, as well, but right now I'm taking LeBron James."

Johnson was effusive in his praise of James.

"LeBron James is better because he's smarter," he said of the growth in James' game. "He added to his game a post¿up game, which has made him guardable, and also made him, even when you double¿team him, and we saw this in Game 4, he was able to make all his teammates better by taking the double¿team and kicking it out for easy jump shots or 3¿point shots.

"Before, my biggest knock on LeBron was he was just playing off his God¿gifted talent. He was just the best athlete. But he didn't play with his head to match that. Now he's playing with his talent and with his head, and wow, watch out. This guy is going to set the league on fire for a long time."

Of what a championship would mean for James, Johnson said, "I think everything changes.

"And we're judged by championships," Johnson said, "and so I think LeBron will be ¿¿ will be bigger around the world with a championship. I think all the naysayers go away, and I think it's only going to make him better, too. Michael [Jordan] got better after his first championship, and so I think the same thing happens for LeBron."

The result of James' first championship?

"LeBron-mania like we've never seen before," Johnson said.

Looking beyond the NBA Finals, Johnson said he sees enough recovery time for James, Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade in advance of their commitments to the U.S. national team in the Olympics, with Olympic camp scheduled to open in three weeks.

"I don't think it'll be a problem," he said. "There's a lot of time for them to rest their bodies because Coach K [Duke coach Mike Krzyzewski] is smart enough to know he doesn't have to push those type of guys as hard, Kevin Durant or LeBron James. But he can push the other guys who went out early who are going to be on the team and make sure that they're in shape, because LeBron and Kevin Durant are already going to be in shape."